Manchester United’s European adventure will continue with a game at home to PAOK on November 7 but they might as well consider November 5 in the Champions League as an extension of that!
Ruben Amorim’s Sporting will take on Manchester City in the Champions League and with the incoming Man Utd manager testing himself against a manager he will come up against regularly soon in a high-profile fixture, the anticipation is palpable.
Of course, it would be foolish to judge him for the result when he’s the Sporting boss playing against a dominant City but there are still things to keep an eye on in this game.
Here are the top three things Man Utd fans can watch out for as their incoming manager takes on their city rivals with his current team in Europe’s premier cup competition-
Ruben Amorim- Pragmatist vs Idealist
Amorim starts his Man Utd tenure with a bit of a soft landing as he faces Ipswich (A), Bodo (H), and Everton (H) in his first three games.
Then comes a visit to Arsenal and that’s not a game United will be expected to dominate, which is something Amorim isn’t used to in a league where he has made Sporting into a dominant force.
This game vs Man City is a nice test to see whether Amorim is a pragmatist or an idealist. He’s unlikely to move away from the system that brought him success but Sporting are huge underdogs for this.
Therefore, there could be a couple of tweaks to counter City’s strengths tactically or some caution introduced to the game.
On the other hand, he will be an idealist if he goes toe-to-toe with City and then whoever wins in that scrap, does so after an intense 90.
Neither is better than the other but this game offers a chance for United fans to see an Amorim team in a position where they won’t be expected to overwhelm the opponents. That’s the case right now with United in many games.
Viktor Gyokeres watch!
This had to be there. Gyokeres has played like a man possessed under Amorim’s guidance and the manager tweaking his system to play with a natural striker for the last two years provides a hint about his tactical flexibility.
Viktor Gyokeres personifies Amorim’s Sporting side as in they are ruthless, vertical, full of quality, direct, and clinical.
Since Amorim’s announcement of taking the United job, it seems like Gyokeres has taken his game to another level, expertly leveraging the increased attention around Sporting to raise his own profile by delivering on big stages.
That will be the same here and like Amorim, if he can do it against a dominant Premier League outfit, then the noise around his potential move next summer will only increase.
The wingback question
The Man Utd squad, as it is, looks like a good enough fit for Amorim’s tactics except for a gaping hole at left-wingback.
Luke Shaw would be perfect for it but the team has to move past looking at him as a genuine option at this point due to injuries.
Diogo Dalot is a fine option on the right but barring a successful positional change for an Antony or Alejandro Garnacho, there’s no standout candidate for the left.
He can field Noussair Mazraoui there but that kills the right-wingback depth in a role that demands a lot from players physically and mentally.
Erik ten Hag and Ruud Van Nistelrooy have felt comfortable playing centre-backs on their stronger foot at times as fullbacks which just doesn’t work at a specialist position like wingback.
Amorim’s use of wingbacks against City will be so interesting to watch because he will have to balance the attacking ambition with defensive security instead of just fielding wingers there in the knowledge they won’t have to do much defending.
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